I've been in Thailand now for a few days, so it's probably time to get something written on here! There is so much that I have seen and experienced - I don't know how I'm ever going to communicate it all to you. I have met so many people who have incredible stories to tell of God's faithfulness and provision in extraordinary circumstances. I think I'll be writing stories until at least 2013.
I was afraid I wouldn't get a chance to see anything outside of the guest house where we're staying. The ECC guys have us scheduled from 7:15 in the morning to 9:00 at night - that doesn't leave a lot of time for sightseeing or exploring. Fortunately, I wasn't required to be at some of the sessions, so I did get a chance to see a bit of the area. I even had time to get a Thai massage! You really can't be in Thailand and not take advantage of this truly unique experience. For about $8, I was smacked, pulled and stepped on - it was quite interesting. Only part of it was painful - the foot and head massages were heavenly. And in all honesty, it was mostly a good pain. I think I would take more time for it if I did it again, though.
It's not all fun and games, though. I am doing actual work - quite a bit, actually. We don't have nearly enough time to get everything done between downloading photos, editing videos, doing interviews and filming.
On the plus side, I've been pretty distracted from thinking about the next leg of our trip. We're headed to another country in the region with decidedly fewer amenities and a lot more travel. I've been worried about it from the beginning, but also excited, because there are so many amazing things happening in this country. There's been real spiritual warfare, and in my human weakness, it's been difficult to overcome. I've always been a worrier, and I just need to trust that God knows what He's doing and will be with me the whole time.
One of the hardest things about this conference is dealing with the security issues. There are several countries here that we can't mention because it isn't safe for our workers. This makes it hard when interviewing because we have to be very careful not to give details that might be used to identify our brothers and sisters. That's why I can't write about where I'm going next. But I'll be able to tell you about it when we meet face-to-face. We just can't have any searchable documents or pages with sensitive information.
I'm operating a bit on information overload right now. There's so much I'd like to write, but I can't get my brain to compress the information into a single stream. For example, I've had at least three people offer to find me a husband in their country. I have four new brothers in one of those countries who are just hilarious, and are always asking me fun questions.
I have to say, I'm glad I came to Thailand. I'm very glad to be part of this conference, and I would love to do all of this again. That being said, I have also been able to clarify some other things I've been thinking about, especially regarding the future. It always amazes me what God uses to open our eyes.
I hope you are all doing well! Please continue to pray for me, especially regarding the next leg of our journey.
Kob coon ka!
What? What about your future? Huh? : )
ReplyDeleteI totally understand the "single stream" thing of thinking. It happens with information overload and also when you haven't done a single thing in the past 2 weeks. Funny how the same problem can occur at both places.
ReplyDeleteKob coon ka? = Is that a corn cob on the raccoon? (In Japanese, ka, at the end of a sentence makes it a question. So... I asked it. :)
It means 'thank you' in Thai. I could also have said 'Sa wa dee ka,' which is used for both hello and goodbye.
ReplyDelete